Contract bid question

I have been asked to bid on a CVS/Pharmacy (not a 24 hour job) any suggestions on pitfalls to watch out for would be appreciated. Or should I just pass on this type of establishment. I presently have contracts with industrial park and residentials-a different type of traffic pattern. The store is new since last November, Im not sure who did it last winter but based on the job they did I can see why its out to bid again.<p>Bill

Bill

Yesterday is a memory. Tomorrow is a mystery. Right now is your reality.
(Thx to GB, RIP)

We do large commercial,industrial lots,as well as Eckerds drug stores.Also some other small strip type stores and i ask myself sometimes why do i bother with them.The money is ok from these smaller commercial accounts, but do to the environment of a constant car traffic flow and customers in and out of the stores its not easy to keep these accounts happy.It seems easier for us to keep our large customers happy but the constant phone calls from the smaller ones give us the most trouble.I havent figured out how to keep the small accounts happy short of being on there property all the time and if that happens we dont make money.Maybe someone else will answer your question better than i and if so i sure would like to know the secret of keeping these accounts happy and make good money from them.<p>----------<br>J PARKER<br>914-485-4200

We did the local 24/7 jug milk chain (11 stores) for one winter. Besides no getting paid until June 15, we were pestered with their calls, particularly about slush being tracked in from their parking lots and packed snow. <br>We found that we were basically tied to these damn stores - do all 11 and then start over. Our longer-term accounts suffered. Next year, we declined them. A royal PITA.<p>----------<br>John<br>

John
Don't be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic.

pay attention to foot traffic clear em good make sure you charge for plow throughs I did 8 of them everytime you come to do a plow through stop in quick and talk to the manager they may have special requests charge for it offer to leave a bag of salt in case something freezes over... these places have alot of foot traffic! focus on that biggest problem is people leaving their cars there include this in the contract

I have spoken with many people about this, I personally stay away from commercial/retail establishments. I do commercial asiited living/condo and industrial manufacaturing.<br>A reatial place is like haveing 25 driveways and getting payed for only one. I also dont do restuarants, except one that feeds us for free, or gas stations.<br>If I did pick on e sure as hell It would be done by a sub, and not me.<br>One of subs did 2 gas stations and a strip mall, last winter, and it took him forever, it was all packed down, and he always had to go back 2-3 times after the storm to slush off. He thought no big deal, I will get payed for each recall. Nope, his price was for a 0-2,2-4,4-6 and so on. Unlike me that charges per push, and call backs are stated in the contract as an extra. <br><p>----------<br> Professional Ice and Snow Management <br>Products:Services:Equipment www.sima.org

I am not the biggest and I am not the best but I fall somewhere comfortably in between.

I used to stay away from small stores and stip malls. Only you can make money at those, without too much work. Also as the guys who went to the SIMA conference know, most of the lots up here are small, except for some of the ones in the city. If they went to the Maine Mall in south portland you saw the lot that got plowed with a bull dozer.<p>So i plow small lots, and make money on them. Not as much as condos, or private roads, and schools. Only i use some different plowing tactics then a lot of the other guys too. In Maine we tend to let the snow pile up more than the southern states. I try to never have more than 3&quot; of snow on a private road, lot, or school during a storm, its 6&quot; on a residental drive.<p>Geoff

i have had good result plowing chain type stores currently a fleet of walgreen drug stores yes probably more work than the regular factory machine shop but i charge almost every trip to the location yes foot traffic is heavy keep the walks wet and constant contact w/ manager is your best betwhen bidding keep in mind you will spend more time there than other account and structur you charging/billing accordingly<p>doug

Just wondered how the CVS bid worked out? The stores in your area are managed by a company that establishes a price and then you accept or reject the contract. From my experience, they are willing to pay fair market value for services.

We have 6 CVS stores we do, and a property manager in another state is running the show. Same with Eckerds (at least here). We also had some problems getting paid with the CVS sites.

Generally, we charge more for smaller sites and make the margins higher on smaller locations. We also charge (at least something) for every visit. If we clean the aprons after the city trucks come thru, it cost's them (even though it is a pro-rated lower amount than the full per push rate).

Just curious. With CVS was the problem paperwork related or was the firm just slow to pay? I understand they have a lot of hoops to jump through such as activity sheets detailing what was done at a particular store, etc.

Not trying to put you on the spot, just curious if the payment problem was resolved and what it revolved around. Your experience could help others, so let us know.